Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans multiple countries. It includes 93 parts, which are forests of European beech (Fagus sylvatica), located in 18 European countries. These sites protect the largest and least disturbed forests where beech trees are the main species. In many of these forests, especially in the Carpathians, beech trees have remained unchanged since the last ice age. These areas show how the beech trees naturally spread and grew again after the last ice age.
Carpathian region
The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians include ten separate areas located along an 185 km (115 mi) long path, starting in the Rakhiv Mountains and Chornohora Ridge in Ukraine, passing through the Poloniny Ridge in Slovakia, and ending in the Vihorlat Mountains in Slovakia. The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany include five locations, cover 4,391 hectares, and were added to the list in 2011.
The Carpathian site covers a total area of 77,971.6 hectares (192,672 acres). Of this, 29,278.9 hectares (72,350 acres) are protected as preserved areas, while the rest is part of a "buffer zone" that helps protect the main site. The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians are found in the Zakarpattia and Prešov Regions. More than 70% of the site is in Ukraine. The area includes two national parks and some protected habitats, mostly in Slovakia. These two national parks, along with a nearby area in Poland, form a special reserve called the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.
Other parts of the site include Havešová, Rožok, and Stužica in Bukovské vrchy (Slovakia), and a fourth area in Slovakia named Kyjovský prales of Vihorlat. In Ukraine, the site includes Chornohora, Kuziy-Trybushany, Maramarosh, Stuzhytsia–Uzhok, Svydovets, and Uholka–Shyrikyi Luh. Only a few of the ten areas are open to visitors. Stužica is the only location in Bukovské vrchy (Slovakia) with hiking trails.
In 2017, UNESCO added forests in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain to the site. In 2021, UNESCO added forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, France, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, and Switzerland. In 2023, the site was slightly expanded to include the Dürrenstein-Lassingtal area in Austria and a forest at Paklenica National Park in Croatia, which includes former areas like Paklenica National Park-Suva draga-Klimenta and -Oglavinovac-Javornik.
List of component parts
The parts included in the site as of December 2023 are:
- Only boundary changes.
Udava (Bukovské Vrchy, Slovakia) was formed by changing the boundary of Stužica before. Falascone (Italy) was previously called Umbra Forest (Foresta Umbra).
This is a special UNESCO World Heritage Site that spans many countries. It includes 94 forest areas in 18 European countries. The total area of these parts is 99,947.81 hectares (246,976.4 acres), including protected areas around the main parts totaling 396,223.61 hectares (979,089.9 acres). The largest total area of these parts is in Ukraine and Romania, covering 53% of the total (41% including protected areas).
Forms of protection
The sections of this property partially or fully overlap with different protected areas, such as national parks, nature reserves, and the Natura 2000 network. Abbreviations: C – number of sections in a specific group; N – indicates if the sections overlap with Natura 2000 areas.
Tentative list
This forest is on the World Heritage Tentative list as a proposal to expand the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe site:
- Virgin Forest Reserve in NP Biogradska Gora
- Fruška Gora, Kopaonik, Tara